Polyethylene films are used in a wide variety of applications including stretch/cling (pallet wraps etc.), grocery bags, heavy duty shipping sacks, disposable diapers, food wraps and agricultural films. Large volumes of polyethylene film are used in these applications on a daily basis. Decomposition of conventional polyethylene films, however, takes long periods of time under most conditions. Thus, a need has arisen for a degradable polyethylene film suitable for use in various products.
A degradable composition comprising a synthetic resin, a degradable granular filler such as natural starch granules and a substance autoxidizable to yield a peroxide is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,117 issued Apr. 5, 1977 to Griffin. Purportedly, articles formed from the composition described in this patent degrade as the starch granules exposed at or adjacent the surface of the article are degraded and leached away followed successively by degradation of particles at the interior to produce a cellular structure which is more readily attacked by the processes of oxidation, hydrolysis, direct enzyme action or combinations of these processes.
The use of starch as a filler material in the production of thin polyethylene films, however, causes major problems in the manufacturing process. Starch, a hydrophilic material is incompatible with polyethylene, a hydrophobic material. Due to the relative incompatibility of starch with polyethylene and the difference in the surface energies of the respective materials, starch migrates to the surface of the meltstream during the extrusion process and collects on the die lips where the shear rates are significant. The starch deposited on the die lips oxidizes and intermittently picks off into the passing film material causing holes and defects in the film product.
The use of starch as filler material in polyethylene film products also has a significant impact on the physical properties of the film product. Major reductions in gloss, elongation, toughness, tear strength, impact and coefficient of friction result from the use of starch as a filler material. Although the magnitude of the changes in physical properties varies with different types of polyethylene, e.g., low density polyethylene (LDPE) vs. linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), the changes are nonetheless significantly deleterious.
Thus, there is a need for a polyethylene film that is degradable and which simultaneously substantially retains the desirable properties of conventional polyethylene film.